Photographer on hotel roof dies after falling into smokestack

A man trying to take a photo atop a hotel in Chicago died Thursday after falling down a smokestack.

The 23-year-old from Minnesota was stuck in the smokestack for four hours after the 1 a.m. fall, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune. He was communicating by phone until 3:15. and was removed at 5 a.m.

Rescue crews had to cut through walls at the Intercontinental Hotel to reach the man, who was wedged in a bend of the 6-foot-wide chute about two stories below the roof, rescue authorities said. The smokestack angled at that point before dropping 42 floors.

The rescue brought 30 companies and more than 100 firefighters and paramedics to the scene, according to the Tribune report.